After a first-round bye set up a long week of practice, it didn’t take long for the Durango High School girls basketball team to blow off some pent-up energy in Friday’s Colorado High School Activities Association 4A girls basketball state tournament second-round matchup with Thompson Valley.
The No. 16 Demons (17-7) had a double-digit lead 2 minutes into the game and welcomed the No. 48 Eagles (9-16) to Durango with a 16-0 run right out of the gates. Durango led 34-10 at halftime and took its foot off the gas pedal down the stretch to win 56-34.
Stephanie Basye was unstoppable in the paint and led the Demons with 18 points. Hilda Garcia paced the run in the game’s opening minutes with a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.
“We’ve been antsy for like two weeks,” Garcia said. “That whole week of practice without playing at all really got us pumped up. We really prepared well for this game, and I guess this is what happens when the team comes up and prepares.”
The Demons were relentless at both ends of the floor to start the game. Garcia hit two 3s in the 16-0 start and had eight of the team’s 24 points in the first-quarter outburst. DHS led 24-6 after the opening quarter and starting guard Katrina Chandler hadn’t scored a basket.
Durango led 34-10 at halftime and the contributions from the starting five were spread out evenly. Emma Hackett had six first-half points and Taylor Edwards joined Basye in dominating inside on both ends of the floor.
“That’s kind of indicative of how far this team has come,” Durango head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said. “Defenses have learned to focus on Katrina, but we have a whole group of girls that aren’t afraid to step up and knock down shots.”
The second half started with another Garcia 3-pointer, and the Demons were off and running again. They led 45-15 before Fitzpatrick emptied the bench often down the stretch to conserve energy for the Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1 Pueblo South, which beat Littleton 43-33.
“I think we can compete with anyone in the state at this point,” Basye said. “I’m just stoked to see what our team can do. We like the challenge of having the best team in front of us. We’re going to have to play them at some point if we want to win.”
Chandler finished with eight points and led the team with eight rebounds. Edwards had eight points and seven rebounds. Hackett finished with six and Jordan Baker added two.
The Demons will have to go to Pueblo South for Tuesday’s matchup. The game time has not been determined yet.
“Everyone is tough at this point of the season, so we might as well get that No. 1 team now,” Fitzpatrick said. “Pueblo South is a good team. They shoot the ball really well. No matter what, I know this group of girls won’t be intimidated. We went toe-to-toe with Sand Creek last year, and they had some Division I players. I like this matchup for us.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
